Police officer pleads not guilty to child porn charges

COLUMBUS (AP) — The former public information officer for the Columbus police department has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of sending and receiving child pornography.

Fifty-one-year-old Dean Worthington was arraigned Friday in Columbus where a judge set bond at $35,000. The judge said that if Worthington makes bail, he must remain under house arrest until trial, can’t have internet access and can’t be in the presence of minors, including his teenage daughter, without another adult present.

Worthington’s attorney sought to have him released on a recognizance bond.

Franklin County prosecutors say an examination of Worthington’s cellphone found around 40 pornographic images of children. A task force began investigating Worthington in May after the social media site Tumbler reported that a photo of a boy had been uploaded to the site.